It’s pig racing, fried food tasting and blue-ribbon placing. It’s Ferris wheel riding, demonstration guiding and entertainment providing. The Santa Cruz County Fair runs Tuesday, September 14, through Sunday, September 20, at the fairgrounds in Watsonville, showcasing everything from the Blue Oyster Cult to prized sheep. The self-supporting event — no taxes are used to pay for the Fair — brings the best in agriculture, domestic arts and crafts together with carnival fun, musical acts and more. (For a complete entertainment schedule, click here.)

“Santa Cruz County and the Monterey Bay are amazingly lucky to have this quintessential county fair,” said Steve Stagnaro, the Fair’s marketing director. “They don’t exist anymore…. It is very much connected to the past while still trying to do some modern stuff. You can see a lot of where the county was and where agriculture was, and that feel of cotton candy and Ferris wheels and visiting with friends and a puppet show and a clown….it’s still there at this county fair.”

Stagnaro shared with Weekend Santa Cruz five things that many people don’t know about the 2009 Santa Cruz County Fair.

1) The sea lions are back! “They haven’t been here for a few years,” said Stagnaro, “but the theme is ‘Barnyard Beach Party.’” Meant to educate and entertain, Sea Lion Encounters features the mammals showing off by balancing balls, performing handstands and interacting with trainers. The show, run by Moss Landing’s Animal Training and Research International, takes place at 3 and 5:30 p.m. weekdays (except Tuesday, which only has a show at 5:30 p.m.) and at noon, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the Tank House Stage, near the fine arts exhibit.

2) Mr. Magorium’s Exploratorium makes science magical. The Junior Fair Board, an active group of 13 to 17 year olds, created an interactive science exhibit in the special events building. The hands-on exploratorium “is packaging science in a way that’s fun,” Stagnaro said. “The youngsters won’t know their learning something.” The displays include bubble magic, a touch theater, a “totally tubular” tornado and a wizard’s chamber.

3) Carnivals are fun, but agriculture’s where the fair is at. Whether it’s judging the largest pumpkin or showing the way we farm, the heart of the Santa Cruz County Fair is in produce and livestock. In the Agriculture Building, a special aisle has been set up to show how food gets from seed to finished plate. “It’s so kids who only know Safeway can learn that this is where food actually comes from,” Stagnaro said. Also a special area has been set up at the animal pens for an expectant mother — a cow getting ready to calf or a pig preparing for piglets — so fairgoers might have the chance to see baby animals close up.

4) Zoom, zoom is a fair sound. For kids who are more into Cars than Charlotte’s Web or Babe, Ocean Speedway is free to fairgoers on Saturday and Sunday. Open since 1957, the speedway is the home to stock car races, demolition derbies and more throughout the year.

5) The milkshakes rock. While there’s plenty of interesting food — including fried Twinkies — available at the Fair, amazing milkshakes can be found at the 4-H Club’s Clover Deli. “It’s the best milkshake in the entire planet,” Stagnaro said. “Every year, a buddy and I sit at the Clover Deli and have one.”

Santa Cruz County Fair. September 15-20. Hours: Noon -11 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday. Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Avenue Watsonville. $10 adults, $6 children ages 5-12 & seniors 62 and older, children younger than 5 free. $22 family admission (2 adults/2 children). Advance tickets discounted (see website. Parking $5. (831) 724-5671.